Raising Indonesia’s Stagnant Olympic Medal Count
If Indonesia wants to get out of its medal stagnation, an average of four medals per Olympics, the approach to developing Indonesian sports needs to be changed drastically.
Is Indonesia really longing for more Olympic medals?
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are over. Once again Indonesia is overwhelmed with joy over the national sporting delegation’s achievement in bringing home a gold medal, this time thanks to Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu for their triumph in the women\'s doubles badminton event.
Greysia and Apriyani’s success was historic for Indonesian badminton, which had previously never won a medal in the women\'s doubles event. The country’s women players did win medals at the Olympics, but all came in the singles events, with Susy Susanti taking gold at Barcelona 1992 and bronze at Atlanta 1996 and Mia Audina grabbing bronze at Barcelona 1992.
It was a sweet ending for Greysia and Apriyani, the unseeded pair battling against the odds to scrape through tight rivalries before toppling the Chinese second seed in the final match.
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The nation, represented by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, was thankful and appreciative for the pinnacle performance and handed the pair a cash bonus of Rp 5.5 billion each.
Silver medalist Eko Yulianto (weightlifting), bronze medalists Windy Cantika (weightlifting), Erwin Abdullah (weightlifting) and Anthony Ginting (badminton) also received bonuses – Rp 2.5 billion for silver and Rp 1.5 billion for bronze. Bonuses also came from the Youth and Sports Ministry and private entities, as well as communities.
Stagnation
However, the country’s medal count at the Olympics has been stagnant. Of all the Olympics that Indonesia has participated in since 1988, the average number of the medals won is four while the average gold medals won is one.
At Seoul 1988, we had to be content with only a bronze. Four years later in Barcelona, Indonesia took home five medals (2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze). In the following Games, Indonesia’s medal collection was four (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) at Atlanta 1996; six (1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) at Sydney 2000; four (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) at Athens 2004; six (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze) at Beijing 2008; three (2 silver, 1 bronze) at London 2012; three (1 gold, 2 silver) at Rio de Janeiro 2016; and five (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze) at Tokyo 2020.
The highest number of gold medals achieved was in Barcelona through Susy Susanti in women’s singles and Alan Budikusuma in men’s singles. Afterward, Indonesia produced only one gold at each Olympics, with the London Olympics being the exception as the Indonesian delegation returned home empty-handed.
Overhaul
The medal count may not improve in the future, at least in the next two or three Olympics, if the national perspective on sports development, particularly pertaining to funding, does not experience an overhaul.
There needs to be a revolutionary change in sport development for Indonesia to be able to step up to the next level, which is to achieve seven to 12 medals. Currently, Indonesia\'s medal challenge at the Olympics, whether for gold, silver or bronze, still relies on a "complacency with discount" approach.
The government is reluctant to spend the necessary funds for the development of an elite sporting ecosystem that would put Indonesia\'s athletes in a stronger position for places on the Olympic podium. This means pushing them to strive for gold or silver or, in a contest, for bronze.
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For a podium position, the funds needed are not meager. Each time the budget for the national training camp is announced by the Youth and Sports Ministry, the amount is far from expectations. Even so, the public usually harbors prejudices and question the justification for the budgeted sum. This is not to mention the delay in the disbursement of funds and other administrative drawbacks.
To win a medal at the Olympics requires a lot of money. If Indonesia hopes for more than four to six medals or more gold medals at an Olympics, a sufficient fund must be set aside to cater to the development of elite athletes.
The fund apportioned for sports development can be spent in the form of investment in the sporting industry, incorporated with the education, infrastructure, tourism and employment sectors. The investment can be expected to help boost tourism and provide more employment through major sporting events in Indonesia.
In addition to creating a stronger sporting industry, ample funding would improve Olympic achievements, resting not only on badminton and weightlifting but other sports.
The data of medal-producing countries in terms of budget and expenditure for elite sports development is astounding. Great Britain spent some Rp 6.8 trillion after the Rio Olympics to prepare the athletes for the next mission in Tokyo.
With a collection of 65 medals, the British sports commission spent Rp 102 billion for each medal they won in Tokyo.
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Committed funding proved an effective bailout for the British Olympic team to awaken from their slump in the Atlanta Olympics, where their gold collection was only one, to rise to 11 gold medals four years later in Sydney and 22 gold medals in Tokyo.
Australian sporting authorities channeled Rp 4.8 trillion to the athletic performance program for Tokyo after the 2016 Rio Olympics. The country paid, in effect, an average of Rp 81.9 billion per medal they got in Tokyo, which was one of their most successful Olympic appearances.
Future strategyStill a developing country, Indonesia does not have the same funding capacity as the UK or Australia. However, the “developing country” status should not be made an excuse for not striving to excel. Jamaica, Iran, Croatia and
Kenya are also developing countries, but they each won at least three gold medals at Tokyo 2020.
Funding does determine the establishment of elite athletes for the world stage. How to make efficient use of the funds is left to management science (corruption aside). Of course, team sports with large numbers of players, such as football, basketball, volleyball and field hockey, require accordingly large funds.
It is not impossible that with an augmented budget, Indonesia\'s medal achievements can improve. Individual or team sports with a small number of athletes can be prioritized.
It is evident that the UK opted to direct the funding largely toward cycling, rowing, canoeing and swimming, among others. In addition to the large number of medals up for grabs in these sports, an athlete stands a chance to win more than one medal because they can participate in more than one event. Therefore, the funding can be more efficient and effective.
So if Indonesia wants to get out of its medal stagnation, an average of four medals per Olympics, the approach to developing Indonesian sports needs to be changed drastically.
It\'s not just a matter of budget and funding. The mindset and work attitude prevalent in Indonesian sports management today are also obstacles to the long-term sustainability of the nation’s sports development.
So if Indonesia wants to get out of its medal stagnation, an average of four medals per Olympics, the approach to developing Indonesian sports needs to be changed drastically.
Far-reaching sports development is imperative in the pursuit of world-class achievement. The world\'s major sporting powers have already executed the coaching plans for their athletes for the next Olympics in Paris in 2024, which is only three years away.
The United States has even drawn up a work plan for 2028, when Los Angeles will host the 34th Olympics, while Indonesia, to some extent, is too occupied with the regional SEA Games, the upcoming edition of which has been postponed from this year to April of next year.
Does Indonesia consider glory in the field of sports a manifestation of work, achievement, strength and the life of the nation and state? Deplorably, it does not as yet. In fact, if Indonesia\'s sporting performance were formidable on the world stage, the chance to host major international events would be higher. This could potentially bring a boon to other sectors, such as tourism, labor, investment and hospitality.
The euphoria over Greysia and Apriyani\'s gold victory will disappear in the next few months. As a nation, we will be back to political intrigue and social struggle as the excitement over the gold medal wears out. The public will still see sports funding as a waste of financial resources. At Paris 2024, which is just over 1,000 days away, we are set to see the Indonesian sporting delegation yet again with a mediocre medal collection of four, from only two sports.
Richard Sam Bera, Olympian at the 1988, 1996 and 2000 Games
This article was translated by Musthofid.